Feeding mechanisn for sewing-machines.



No. 668,696. Patented Feb. 26, I90l. W. J. STEWART.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

Application file d Mar. 25, 1900.| (No Model.) I 5 SheetsSheet TME uonms PETEflS ca. mcn'ouruad wAsumcYdu, u. c.

No. 668,696. Patented Feb. 26, I90l.

. W. J. STEWART.

FEEDINGI'ECHANISI FOB SEWING MACHINES.

Application filed Mar. 28, 1900.1 (No Model.)

5 Sheats$heet 2.

Ill-lllllillllllllmm No. 666,696. Patented Feb. 26, l90l.

4 w. .1. STEWART.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

Application filed Mar. 28, 1900. (No Model.) 5 Sheats-8heet 3.

TNE uunms PEYERS 450.. moTaLm oq wnsmmmm n. c.

No. 668,696. I Patented Fab.26, I901.

' I w. J. STEWART.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

qApplication filed In. 28, 1900.)

(No Model.) 5 shuts Shoat 5' I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII m: N In? 1 11 o NITED STATES PATENT WILLIAM J. STEWART, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 668,696, dated February 26, 1901.

Q Application filed March 28, 1900. Serial No. 10,444. (No model.)

T0 00% whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM J. STEWART, a citizen of the United States, residing at No. 2405 Magnolia avenue, Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Feed Mechanisms, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in those features of a sewing-machine head which have to do with the feeding forward of the fabric beneath the sewing-needle, and more particularly to an improved mechanism for imparting adjustable movement to the fourinotion feed-bar ordinarily employed in this connection. The invention contemplates doing away with the gyratory bar or lever employed for this purpose in many present constructions-such as that shown, for example, in my prior patent, No. 460,730, of October 6, 1891and the substitution therefor of a rotary or oscillatory shaft provided with a deflected or bent portion adapted to be engaged by connections running to the feed-bar, so that by adjusting said connections along the deflected portion of the shaft the necessary adjustment of the feed movement may be accomplished in the same manner and to the same effect as in the case of gyrating-shaft construction heretofore referred to.

The invention consists in the matters herein set forth, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and will be fully understood from the following description of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which 7 Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of a sewingmachine head provided with my improvements in one form. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation thereof, taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional detail taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail, partly in section, of the stitch-adjusting devices. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation taken on line 5 f Fig. 1 and showing the driveshaft connections. Figs. 6 and 7 are bottom plan views similar to Fig. 1, showing modified constructions embodying my invention. Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of a further modification in which the bent shaft oscillates instead of rotating. Figs. 9 and 10 are perspective details on lines 9 9 and 10 10, respectively, of Fig. 8.

Referring first to the construction shown in- Figs. 1 to 5, 1 designates the cast-iron bedplate of the sewing-machine head, and 2 the usual four-motion feed-bar mounted beneath said bed-plate between depending lugs 3 and 4, the forward end of said feed-bar being provided with a longitudinal slot 5,that embraces a supporting-pin 6, which extends between the lugs 3 and upon which the feed-bar has a pivotal sliding movement. A rotary shaft 7 is journaledlongitudinally beneath the base-plate in bearing-lugs 8 and arranged to be rotated, or it may be simply oscillated by any suitable connections with the drivingshaft 9 of the machine. This shaft passes under and supports the feed-bar 2 some little distance back of its supporting-pivot 6, and that portion 10 of the shaft upon which the feed-bar rests is so turned off or provided with an eccentric or is otherwise so formed or bent that as the shaft rotates it imparts a vertical oscillatory movement -to the bar. Said shaft is furthermore formed at some point in its length with a bent or deflected portion 11, which constitutes a crank of varying length, and the necessary adjustable longitudinal movement of the feed-bar is accomplished by any suitable operative connections between said bar and the crank so formed. As shown in the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, the bent portion of the shaft 7 is provided at a point between its bearings 8, and the adjustable connections between said bent portion and the feed-bar consist of a lever 12, one end of which is pivotally secured to the frame by a sliding stud 13, while its other end fits and slides freely through an aperture 14 in said feed-bar. A link 15 con-.

nects this lever 12 with the crank portion of the shaft and is herein shown as made in the form of a rigid arm which projects from the lever to the shaft and is provided with a vertical slot 16, through which the latter passes. Then by moving the lever 12 lengthwise by sliding the pivot-stud 13 along within its slot 17 in the bed-plate the link 15 may he slid along upon the shaft 7, so that it will engage the bent or crank portion 11 of the latter either at its point of greatest deflection or any desirable point of lesser deflection,with the consequent result that the feed bar will be given a greater or less length of longitudinal oscillatory movement, according to the length of the stitch desired, the maximum amount of deflection of the bend 11 of the shaft and the length of this bend being made such as to afford the full adjustment necessary within the limits of the movementallowed the stud 13 within its slot 17.

As hereinbefore suggested, any suitable means may be provided for imparting rotary or oscillatory movement to the shaft 7 from the driving shaft 0 of the machine. Such means may conveniently comprise a leverarm 18, the upper end of which embraces an eccentric 19 of the shaft 9, while its lower end is provided with a wrist-pin 20, which engages a slotted crank-arm 21 on the end of the shaft 7 to rotate the latter, said arm 18 being pivotally supported between its ends by a link 22, which swings about a fixed stud 23 in the machine-arm 24, as better shown in Fig. 5; but it will be understood that such devices constitute in themselves no part of my present improvements.

In the somewhat modified construction shown in Fig. 6 the bent portion 11 of the shaft 7 is provided at the extremity of the latter beyond the feed-bar and the adjacent hear ing S of the shaft, and the lever 12 is correspondingly extended beyond said feed-bar to support its connection at a point opposite said deflected portion 11, of the shaft. Adjustment of the length of the stitch will be accomplished in this case, as in the construction first described, by sliding the pivot-stud 13 of the lever 12 longitudinally within its slot 1'7, so as to move the connecting-arm 15 along the bend to the point of greater or less deflection desired.

In Fig. 7, on the other hand, the bend 11 is provided at the other extremity of the shaft 7 or that end adjacent to the oscillatory arm 18 by which the shaft is rotated. The sliding stud 13 is in this case located between the ends of the lever, and the link orarm 15, which connects the lever with the shaft, is provided at that extremity of said lever opposite to the feed-bar in position to engage the bend of the shaft, as before. Adjustment of the leverlongitudinally by means of its adjusting-stud 13 will then obviously change the length of the stitch in the same manner as in either of the constructionspreviouslydescribed. Thebend 11 also constitutes in this case the drivingcrank of the shaft, its extremity being to this end shown projecting into and operatively engaging a slot in the oscillatory arm 18 to receive rotary motion therefrom.

As hereinbefore suggested, the operation of the device will be substantially the same whether the bent shaft rotates or oscillates, and in Fig. 8 I have shown a construction of this latter character in which the oscillatory movement is given to the shaft 7 bya pitman 25, leading downwardly from a crank or eccentric 26 on the driving-shaft 9 and connected at its lower end with a crank-arm 27, which maybe conveniently formed by bonding the end of the shaft into proper shape. Furthermore, the cam for lifting the feed-bar is in this instance made in the form of a separate collar 28, which is adjustably secured upon the shaft 7, beneath the feed-bar, by a set-screw 29. The rocking movement of the shaft accomplished by the pitman connection will then obviously effect substantially the same motion of the feed-bar as in the constructions heretofore described.

From the several constructions illustrated it will be understood that myinvention is not limited to any particular location of the bend or deflected portion or part or to any particular construction of the shaft 7 or deflected portion or part and the actuating connection bet-ween it and the feed-bar, but in its broad aspect includes every form of such adjusting mechanism in which the adjustment is obtained by shifting the point of engagement between the shaft and the connections which lead to the feed-bar along the bent or deflected portion or part of the shaft, so that they will thereby be given a greater or less amplitude of vibration, according to the amount of deflection at the particular point of engagement selected. It will also be understood that a great variety of changes may be made in the details of the construction shown without materially departing from the broad spirit of the invention claimed.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a feed mechanism for sewing-ma chines, a movably-mounted feed-bar, means for imparting vertical movement to the feedbar, and means for imparting an adjustable longitudinal movement thereto, comprising a shaft journaled in stationary bearings and provided with abent or deflected portion, operative connections between said portion and the feed-bar, and means for adjusting said connections along said portion to points of greater or less deflection, substantially as described.

2. In a feed mechanism for sewing-machines, a movably-mounted feed-bar, a shaft journaled in stationary bearings and upon which the feed-bar rests, said shaft being so formed beneath the feed-bar as to impart vertical movement thereto, and being provided with a bent or deflected portion, operative connections between said portion and the feed-bar, and means for adjusting said connections along said portion to points ofgreater or less deflection, substantially as described.

3. In a feed mechanism for sewingmachines, a movably-mounted feed-bar, means for imparting vertical movement to the feedbar, means for imparting an adjustable longitudinal movement thereto, consisting of a shaft journaled in stationary bearings and provided with a bent or deflected portion, a

IIO

of two subscribing witnesses, this 17th day of March, A. D. 1900.

W. J. STEWART.

Witnesses:

HENRY W. CARTER, N. R. BAILEY. 

